


Ever Danced with the Devil in the Pale Moonlight? (And Other AU Stories)

by Lapinporokoira



Category: One Piece
Genre: Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit, Alternate Universe, Other, Prose Poem, Vietnam War, reference to homophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-07-10
Packaged: 2018-03-30 06:51:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3927016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lapinporokoira/pseuds/Lapinporokoira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally a single snippet but decided to expand this as home base for any short pieces based on Alternate Universes of the Strawhats that take my fancy to write. </p><p> </p><p>Title is from my favourite line in Burton's Batman movie.  <br/>The devil holds sway during the full Moon. A demon has no choice but to obey their instinct and pay the Devil's due</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This came about as I was thinking of the lack of decent quality One Piece AUs. I'm a little sick to the back teeth of High school ones and slice of life ones and time travel ones. They're not all bad but just so prevalent. So I made a a small list of what AU I would write myself and this little piece came forth in the process. 
> 
> Instead of devil fruit powers those with abilities are actually demons. The rest of the setting is pretty much the same as the Manga. Not that there is much to glean from here. But that's the gist.

It’s a dance between them. A waltz macabre. In the light of the pale moon, it looks like shadows playing. Toying with each other. A gentle touch and a graceful gambol away from one phantom, and a twirling sharpness from another. Every form dancing to their own melody yet synchronised beneath the fat of Mephistopheles eye. 

As the light wanes a new song seems to play. The dance changes. Rises from slow melodious to sanguine. In the slumber of silence, voices slowly awaken to match the change of tempo. Where form leaves, intonation takes over. No longer svelte and elegant, the dance becomes a frenzy. Phantoms that leapt and teased, now close ranks instead. 

In those undulations it is no longer safe for their passive audience. Doors are quickly closed, locking them against an instinct unreasoned. Not even the bravest of souls would dare catch the eye of a Phantom in full delirium. And in delirium they are. Through wooded walls the cries can be heard to ignite higher, pitching against the night. And the night is long. Oh so long. The dance refuses to stop. 

The birth of a new sun greets the day. The light blanketing it’s yang. The eye closes. Birds sing in hesitance at first. Fear souring their song. Yet in silent return their voices slowly gain confidence, become clearer. The phantoms do not chorus back. Light touches across the land in it’s steady way. It’s fingers sweeping away the shadows of the unnatural to bring colour back into the world. 

Somewhere a door opens slowly. A breath pulls in the air and quickly follows by light steps across wooded floor. A face peers warily over the side. Eyes shaded in sleep and suspicion . Those same eyes soon lighten and a sigh of relief is uttered in response. Light voices speak and more feet tread as the audience of the night before free themselves from their refuge. No-one mentions a word about the beach where the throws of something otherworldly occurred. It’s jovial chatter only. 

The day lengthens on and those once phantoms become figures, alighting upon the deck as friends. No-one speaks of the smells of salt and copper and sweat that surrounded them. No-one speaks of the spots of red or the roughened dents of flesh marring their bodies. Such things do not exist. Instead unities are remade and chatter fills amidst laughter and light. A new adventure awaits. 

Once upon a time there was a dance. It was memory and history. But history repeats and memory covets. Mephistopheles will stir. Phantoms will heed the calling and the dance shall begin once more.


	2. Friends amongst Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unappreciated, but still amazingly talented sniper, finds a new path in the midst of the Vietnam war.

Yet another flurry of gunfire rattled above, causing him to duck deeper into the rolling muck. Behind him he could hear a grunt and a thud as at least one bullet found a mark. He didn’t look back to see who. There was no point. The muddy jungle was already littered with the dead and dying. He could worry about the causalities afterwards. It was a distraction and distractions got people killed. 

He gripped his weapon tight and peered cautiously into the jungle mass. Trying to spy the enemy. Locate the source of spray. They were camouflaged. Well prepared for battle and using their home advantage. It wasn’t a fair fight so he had to play it just right. The slightest of movements he scrutinised, ignoring the more obvious movements of his unit. It took him a moment but then he saw it. Between the greenery was a flash of metal from a rifle. He aimed his own and sighted down the barrel. Slow breaths. Steady breaths. Hold the trigger. Wait for the moment. 

The world slowed down then. Fading into a black and white. Stillness. Silence. Just him and his gun. Colour exploded as metal flashed again and his finger instinctively pulled down on the trigger. His M21 jumped to life, his bullet carving it’s way towards his target with intent. He didn’t hear the cry but he saw the blood spatter, staining the greenery with clotted red. Bullseye, he thought. 

The aftermath was quick and brutal. There were no survivors on the enemy side. As efficient in battle, they were efficient in dying. Refusing to surrender or give up their arms, there was no other option but to take them out. In some cases with prejudice. Those kills he found distasteful, but he turned a blind eye to them. As a unit they had to be as one regardless of what he thought. It would also have made the helicopter ride back rather awkward. 

It was only at base that he could finally relax. Usopp heaved out a huge sigh of relief as his body finally loosened up. The jitters of terror he had been containing shook loose and right down to his ankles. He got a couple of funny looks as his knees knocked together pitifully but the rest were more than familiar with the “cowardly” sniper to just ignore his strange behaviour. Not least his unit who had buggered off on their own. 

After a nice long rest he went to the canteen to fill up his grumbling stomach. The cook eyed him up with disdain as he grabbed up his meal with just a little to much vigour. All but accusing him of gluttony. But Usopp ignored him. That cook always had it out for him. Eating was a lonely affair. The table he had slipped himself onto managed to empty pretty quickly. Not that that was unusual for him either. On the battlefield he was a god of snipers but outside of it he was just some terrified boy. Putting on boots far to big for him, they said. An embarrassment to be seen with, they mocked. 

“Mind if I sit here?”

Usopp froze mid scoop, his eyes shooting up quizzically wide at someone actually speaking to him. Actually being polite. Wanting to sit with him of all people?! A grinning face returned his wary one. The other man’s mouth was all teeth in a too large mouth. Joined by two eyes that practically sparkled with life. Under one of them was a rather nasty looking scar that somehow managed to look completely at home despite being at odds with the youthful charm of the individual. But what really caught his attention was the unusual hat on top of the other man’s head. It screamed jaunty. 

“Sure.” He muttered hesitantly. What else could he say? The guy looked harmless enough and had even asked first. Someone really needed to write a booklet for this sort of thing!

Without any hesitation the stranger flopped down on the chair right next to him, slamming his tray onto the table before diving in like it was his last meal. Usopp stared agape as the stranger made his own eating habits look like a Lady’s etiquette lesson. He was still staring, his own meal as yet half eaten, when the stranger finally slumped back, tapping his stomach. But it didn’t take a second for his eyes to draw towards Usopp’s unfinished plate. The sniper debated before he slid his plate across and was entertained with the Stranger taking an encore in terrible eating habits. 

“They don’t give you enough.” The stranger said finally. Usopp blinked at him. 

“I’m still hungry,“ he bemoaned. 

“You did just eat two rations worth.” Usopp lamely said back. Not knowing what else to say. 

“That was like starters,. Or that weird French word Sanji calls them.” 

Sanji? Usopp had heard that name somewhere before, but couldn’t place it. The stranger seemed to take Usopp’s attempt at trying to pinpoint the name as question. 

“Sanji’s my cook. Supposed to be anyway. He wouldn’t make me lunch. It’s not my fault forks make good back scratchers.”

Now Usopp was really confused. Since when did soldiers have their own cooks? The more he knew of this stranger the more intrigued he became. 

“I have a bear for that. He’s got really big claws so he can reach that annoying spot you can’t quite reach on your back.” He blurted out. 

“COOL!” The light shining out of the strangers eyes nearly blinded Usopp.

“A real bear?! I want a bear. I’ll make Nami get me a bear. She’s good at getting things. Oh I nearly forgot. I’m Luffy.” His hand flew out almost knocking the sniper from his seat.

Usopp blinked. Either from recovering of his near permanent disability or the sudden strange shift of conversation he couldn’t say. 

“Err Luffy? Yeah Hi. I’m Usopp” 

Then with a bit more confidence. 

“Also known as Sogeking. Master sniper. Never missed a shot. I can shoot the eye of a fish hundred feet beneath the water.”

He grinned. Feeling a little like his old self as he told his outrageous lie. The fact that this Luffy looked at him with awe instead of disgust only made him grin wider. 

“The Charlie’s call me the God of Death. The very sight of me causes them to run in panic.”

“I want you.”

“Huh?!”

Being proposition was a first. Not that Usopp was against it, but the question froze him solid momentarily and all thoughts of exaggerating his prowess flew out the window. He took a breath.

“That’s ummm great. I’m flattered. Really. But I’m not into guys like that. And you really shouldn’t be asking anyone around here that question either.”

This Luffy character was going to get himself killed and not by a bullet if he wasn’t careful. Usopp was an easy going guy but he knew many were not, and a nice person, like Luffy seemed to be, needed a little warning.

“Are you sure? ‘cause I asked Sanji and Nami and Franky and Chopper and they didn’t seem to mind.”

Woah woah! Usopp’s mind raced. Was this guy for real? He looked at the smiling face. Yes. This guy was for real. He face palmed. 

“I think group err activities are alright for others I guess.“ He mumbled under his hand. “But, no thanks. ”

Usopp almost felt bad when he looked back and saw the smile dropping away from his companion. It was like he had kicked Santa Clause’s puppy in the unmentionables. 

“That’s alright. My team is a little much for most people I guess. I really wanted a Sniper. But if you won’t join my unit that’s cool. It was nice meeting you, Usopp”

As Luffy walked away, Usopp digested his last words. Team. Sniper. Unit. Oh. 

“Wait!” Usopp cried out. His feet tangling in his haste to catch up with Luffy. “What did you mean by team?” 

Luffy stared back both amused and confused at the sudden change of minds.

“I’m creating an A-Team. My gramps pulled some strings so I could do it. I’m going to be the greatest General in history one day and I want the best to join me. I heard you were the best. And I like you.”

Usopp preened. He was the best sniper. Naturally. And of course, when you did get to know him he was an awesome person, but he never expected to be sought out so readily. Not when the other soldiers only really saw Cowardly Usopp and not Sogeking, even after the amount of times he saved their lives. He stared back at Luffy, whose smile seemed to have returned somewhat. 

“Yes.” He said. Opportunity beckoned after all.

“Yes. I’ll join you.”

Luffy beamed. 

“Alright!“

Usopp hoped he wouldn't regret this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just thought let's write something today, and I ended up writing this.  
> I had no particular SH in mind when I started writing, other then they were male, but it became quickly obvious that it was going to be Usopp. Then there was the fact I only intended a short serious piece and was going to have Usopp shot whilst still in the jungle with an ambiguous will he live or die ending. Well I managed to keep the fairly ambiguous ending at least but the rest just grew a bit more then I expected. 
> 
> I don't know much about the Vietnam war so I avoided too much detail on it and the details I do have I'm not sure if they are accurate at all. But it's a one-shot so I'll let you decide if it's jarring or not. 
> 
> Zoro and Robin and Brook were intentionally not mentioned. In my mind's eye I see Robin and Brook joining later. As for Zoro, well I sort of pictured him as initially being on the Vietnam side of the conflict.


End file.
